After getting up at 5.45 we checked out of the hotel and got on the luxury coach (it had a toilet on it so Steph was very happy). Also as it was half empty it was very comfortable.

Our first stop after about an hour was Stuart Well, where myself and Steph had our first camel ride. Sophie was lovely though she did let out a groan when I got on her back (naughty!). There were also two baby kangaroos that were barely 2 foot high (very cute) and an Emu. It was great to watch the kangaroos bouncing around and we were also able to feed them some grass.

As we continued on the coach journey along Stuart highway we were surprised at the greenery as we had been expecting arid desert. Apparently it has been raining at least once a week in this area for the last 18 months. Some of the creeks were also running which is a rare sight apparently.

After a few more stops and a good 5 hour drive we arrived at our hotel at Ayers rock resort. We checked in and grabbed a bite to eat before being picked up for our visit to an Aboriginal cultural centre. This was quite interesting and concentrated largely on their arts and crafts, their various customs and gave us some insight into Bush tucker. Fortunately we did not have to try any! Whilst at the centre we had a narrow escape from a large centipede which we were told give a very nasty bite. At this time of year they are all over the place and we asteroid by hotel to look out for them in our room! We spent the whole night imagining insects crawling over us, nice!

After this we joined the tour to Uluru where we were taken on a couple of guided walks around the base. These were very interesting as we got to see some cave paintings and various sacred sites. It was exceptionally hot and we have never seen so many flies. At a road house on the way to Uluru we bought fly nets which we wore over our hats. These were a lifesaver and we wouldn't have been able to cope without them.

It was interesting to see the rock close up. It was much more impressive than we were expecting. There are lots of cave like holes along the face of the rock which from a distance appear like strange patterns.

We then travelled to a spot to watch the sunset at the rock. As it was fairly cloudy this was not as good as we were expecting but there was free wine so we took full advantage of that of course!!